The Kits of DawnClan
by kayixu
Summary: A tale of two extremes. Lionpaw, a small apprentice of GladeClan is quite literally dropped into the territory of a Clan she never knew existed. Here, cats are equal. A kit's voice is just as important as a warrior's, and the leaders respect everyone's opinion. Will Lionpaw remain with her new friend, or will she leave the life of a DawnClan cat behind?
1. Chapter 1

**Yep, I'm starting another one. I update the stories regularly enough though, don't I? I think so…. So I'm starting another!**

 **Now without further delay….**

Introduction

Two green eyes observed silently, the activity within the camp. The kit's grey fur blended in with her stone background. She was nearly invisible on the ledge. Not far from her position was the opening of a cave. That cave was the nursery. Her mother emerged from the cave, her grey tabby and white pelt was neatly groomed. Not one of those long furs was out of place. The queen's dark blue gaze scanned the area below.

Finally the elegant creature jumped down to a boulder, and from that, to the floor of the huge cavern. Stalactites loomed overhead, seeming to constantly threaten the felines below. The kit paid them no attention, and kept watching her Clan-mates for a few minutes before following the path her mother had taken. She padded over to the fresh-kill pile, where two of her friends were sharing a huge eagle.

"Mistkit," one of them, a blue-grey male calmly greeted.

"Are you hungry?" asked the she-kit, a spotted tabby. "We can't finish this thing on our own."

"Hello Twilightkit, Softkit," she replied. Her eyes first met the golden ones of Twilightkit, then the leaf-colored ones of Softkit. "Yes, I am."

She ate her meal quietly, enjoying the taste of her favorite bird. Their camp was a simple one. All of the dens were caves. The fresh-kill pile was situated near the back of the cavern, close to some jagged stalagmites jutting out from the floor. Mistkit looked at the three great columns in the middle of camp. There was a large boulder in the middle, and an opening far above the place where DawnClan's leaders called for meetings.

"I've been thinking. It's about time I started my training, don't you think?" Softkit asked, as the other two picked the last of the meat off of the eagle bones.

Twilightkit shrugged. "If you think you're ready. Kits younger than you have completed the challenge of reaching Dawn Peak. What do you think, Mistkit?"

"It's a very dangerous trial, but I'm sure you can do it. Just remember to watch out for predators." She kicked one of the eagle's talons. "Birds have just as much taste for cat as we do for them, and there's always the chance of mountain lions."

"I don't plan on trying it for another moon or two," Twilightkit said.

"Well, you've got plenty of time, being only two moons old," Softkit replied to him. To Mistkit she said, "I've learned all I can about the dangers and how to avoid and escape them. When do you plan on taking the challenge?"

"I'm not sure." At three moons old, she was at the age most cats made the attempt. Softkit, at five, had waited for much too long, according to some.

Later on that day, the kit found herself at the camp entrance, staring at Dawn Peak. The mountain was so close to the one DawnClan inhabited yet so shrouded in mystery. No cat was permitted to speak of his or her experience there. They were supposed to go there, retrieve a Night Stone, and bring it back to prove that they had truly gotten to their destination.

Many a kit had tried before her. Many had never come back.

It was a life threatening challenge, one that Mistkit was soon to take.

OoOoOoOoOo

"Again."

"But I've done this ten times already!"

Lionpaw regretted those words the instant they left her mouth. If she could've, she would've taken them back. But there was nothing she could do. She had spoken those words in that order and her voice had reached her mentor's ears. The slender calico's gold-colored eyes blazed with anger. Lightstep's bright orange tail lashed violently. Not only had her apprentice spoken without permission, but also the golden tabby had argued. Lionpaw's heart began to race, but she kept her composure.

The GladeClan apprentice bowed submissively. After several moments of silence, Lightstep's voice almost made her jump. She stopped herself, though, as she was in enough trouble already. "Well?"

Taking this as an indication that it was ok to speak, she did. "I'm sorry, Lightstep. I wasn't thinking."

"I'll say you weren't. Now pounce ten _more_ times."

Much like a higher-ranking wolf of this forest, the calico placed one paw on Lionpaw's head and the apprentice did exactly as instructed. She carefully but quickly positioned her form and pounced. Then she did it again and again until she had done it ten more times. Wolves and cats shared an existence in the forest. The canines kept to their land and GladeClan cats kept to theirs.

" _Lion_ paw…." The other cat said to herself. "Why such a powerful name for such a small cat?"

It was true, she had been the smallest kit in her mother's litter. Even now, she was tiny in comparison to the other apprentices. Lionpaw had one eye that was gold in color, and the other was a pretty shade of amber. She was neither strong nor quick, something that was completely unacceptable here. Her mentor lost in thought, she simply stood before the calico and kept her gaze focused downward.

"That is the fifth time you broke a rule, Lionpaw. In fact, today, you've broken two."

She forced her fur not to bristle, and kept her heartbeat under control. Who knew what would happen if Lightstep scented her apprentice's fear?

"Come."

They returned to GladeClan's camp. The clearing was bare, and surrounded by a bush wall. In the middle of the camp was a small tree. The eldest leader slept in a hole in the tree. The younger one's den was a tiny one among its roots. Every other den was a bush, except for the noclaws', which was a fallen tree with several holes on the edge of camp. A small circle of rocks was positioned in front of the branches where the leaders would soon be.

"You know where to go."

She walked over to the circle, and stepped inside it. Redcloud, a fire-colored tabby with yellow eyes, spoke with Lionpaw's mentor for a minute. The male cat spoke with his brother, Darkcloud, before they leapt up to their branches. The dark tabby cat with blue eyes and a white paw, Darkcloud, was the one who called the meeting.

"Cats of GladeClan, gather to hear our words!"

The second in command, Bluewing, hurried to the side of the tree. The warriors took their places at the front of the crowd, but quickly realized what was happening and ordered the apprentices and kits to come and see. The noclaws hurried to their dens, not allowed to be at meetings.

"This apprentice has no respect for her superiors. She has shown disregard for the rules of our Clan."

"And today, she has broken not one, but two rules," said Redcloud.

Everyone was silent, as they were not to speak during meetings.

"We have decided she will lose two claws."

The leaders jumped down from their perches and Lionpaw, once again bowed like a wolf. She didn't feel anxiety about the glaring warriors. She paid no attention to the caring looks of the other apprentices, or the worried expressions on the innocent kits' faces. She didn't give a mouse's tail that a few cats here actually pitied her for losing two claws so early in life. She simply held out a paw, and waited.

One claw was ripped out.

The blood on the ground didn't bother her, nor did the fact that Redcloud was now spitting out her claw.

Another gone.

Her entire leg throbbed as Darkcloud spit out the other. But even that didn't bother her much.

What bothered her the most was that now, she could never be a leader and make things right.

 **Well that was dark! D: This is an idea that's been floatin' around in my brain for a while. I think it formed because it's a little irritating how in the books, when a kit is born, everyone is like "Yay! New life! This is so wonderful!" and when they can leave the nursery, the adult cats are like "Stay out of the way! Don't bother anyone!" So here are the cats of the Clans.**

DawnClan~

Leaders: Mooncloud- a silver tabby she-cat with bright blue eyes. She is the oldest leader, and is calm and kind.

Panthercloud- a male black cat with gold eyes. He is calm and distant.

Snowcloud- white male cat with blue eyes. He is cheerful.

Second in Command: Stonefoot- a large, muscular dark grey she-cat with amber eyes.

Medicine cats: Icewing- a white she-cat with yellow eyes and irritable nature.

Hawkflight- brown male cat with amber eyes. He is calm, and quiet.

Warriors: Boulderfoot- a large male grey tabby cat with dark green eyes. Calm and open minded.

Rootclaw- female tabby and white cat with gold-colored eyes and cheerful nature.

Apprentice: Greypaw

Eagleflight- light brown tabby female with white paws and blue eyes. Peaceful.

Darkpelt- a male black feline with a white muzzle and yellow eyes. Stealthy, and quiet.

Suntail- a fire-colored tabby female with green eyes. She is small, and energetic.

Redclaw- a large, muscular fire-colored tabby with yellow eyes. She is irritable, and craves excitement.

Apprentice: Jaggedpaw

Morningsky- a light yellow tabby with gold-colored eyes. He is calm, and observant.

Silverstone- female silver tabby cat with green eyes. Calm and thoughtful.

Mudpelt- male tabby cat with green eyes and a somewhat irritable nature.

Talonclaw- white male cat with patches of yellow tabby fur and yellow eyes. Calm.

Apprentices (kits who have completed the challenge of reaching Dawn Peak and returning with a Night Stone)

Jaggedpaw- black an white male cat with yellow eyes. Normally calm, but fairly easily annoyed.

Greypaw- dark grey tabby female with green eyes and optimist nature.

Queens: Featherwind- grey and white tabby with dark blue eyes. Elegant and peaceful. (Boulderfoot's mate)

Kits: Mistkit

Rockfall- a grey tabby cat with green eyes. She is cold and distant to most. (Talonclaw's mate)

Kits: Twilightkit, Softkit

Kits (cats who have not yet completed the challenge)

Mistkit- grey female kitten with bright green eyes. She is calm and polite.

Softkit- spotted tabby kit with leaf-green eyes and cheerful nature.

Twilightkit- somewhat timid blue-grey male cat with golden eyes.

Elders: Stormfur- blue-ish grey male cat with green eyes and a positive nature.

Brokenclaw- a tabby and white female cat with unseeing blue eyes. Changed her name to Brokenpaw upon returning from her journey.

Dusk Cats (cats who never went on the journey)

Leafkit- white female cat with green eyes. She doesn't speak.

Waterkit- a large grey tabby male with blue eyes. Easily angered.

Dropletkit- a small black she-cat with yellow eyes and calm nature.

Birdkit- black and white male cat with yellow eyes. Cheerful.

GladeClan~

Leaders: Darkcloud- a dark tabby with one white paw and blue eyes. Violent and easily annoyed.

Redcloud- fire-colored tabby cat with yellow eyes. He is slightly calmer than his brother.

Second in Command: Bluewing- female blue-ish grey cat with golden eyes and irritable nature.

Medicine cat: Wildfire- fire-colored tabby cat with orange eyes. He is calm and composed.

Warriors: Thornfang- female tabby and white cat with blue eyes. She is stealthy and enjoys fighting larger enemies.

Wolfclaw- grey and black male cat with yellow eyes and irritable nature.

Shadowtooth- black she-cat with yellow eyes. She is arrogant.

Lostclaws (warriors who have lost claws)

Lightstep- slender calico with gold-colored eyes. She is arrogant, and hateful.

Apprentice: Lionpaw

Rivertail- black and white she-cat with blue eyes. Calmer than most in this Clan.

Sandfur- yellow tabby female with amber eyes and calm nature. Lionpaw's mother.

Foxgrowl- a red tabby cat with green eyes. He is irritable, but normally quiet.

Blackheart- a black male cat with a white tail-tip and gold-colored eyes. He is violent, and enjoys harming other living beings.

Fadeclaw- a male black cat with green eyes. His pelt blends into the shadows a little _too_ well….

Apprentices: Lionpaw- a golden tabby she-cat with one yellow eye and one amber eye. She is small, and has a lot of repressed anger.

Firepaw- a quiet, submissive red tabby with green eyes. Lionpaw's sister.

Queens: Barktail- tabby with yellow eyes and quiet nature. (Fadeclaw's mate)

Kits: Nightkit, Shadekit, Crowkit

Nightkit- black she-kit with gold-colored eyes.

Shadekit- dark tabby she-kit with green eyes.

Crowkit- male kit with a black pelt and green eyes.

Elder: Snowpelt- mostly white calico female with yellow eyes. Peaceful.

Noclaws (cats who have lost all of their front claws and now serve the warriors)

Pine- brown male cat with yellow eyes. Irritable.

Grass- tabby and white female cat who is easily annoyed. She has blue eyes.

Splash- white female cat with blue eyes. Her throat is damaged and she cannot speak.


	2. Chapter 2

**For those who may or may not be waiting for the next chapter of Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: an Explorer from Space, it's in progress.**

 **Also, there's a poll on my profile! :P**

Whispers

The pain in Lionpaw's foot woke her from a troubled sleep. She walked outside on three legs. The sky was growing brighter, the dark indigo color slowly turning light blue. The nocturnal insects of Greenleaf were quieting. The golden-furred apprentice sighed, depressed. It'd been her goal to become a leader one day. It was impossible now that she was lostclaw apprentice.

A growl rose in the back of her throat. She quickly stopped it, and looked around, praying that she hadn't been heard. She was hungry, but didn't dare take anything from the fresh-kill pile, which was behind the tree. The older cats must always eat first in GladeClan. Only when they'd had their fill and she caught at least two prey animals could Lionpaw satisfy her own hunger.

Needless to say, Leafbare was a difficult time for apprentices. Lionpaw should be thankful, she reminded herself, that she would likely be a warrior just before the cruel season gripped the land. She knew Lightstep well enough to know that she would have no time off from her training. She considered the idea of asking Wildfire for a poppy seed or two for her foot.

"Wonderful, you're up," Bluewing said as she emerged from the warriors' spacious den. "You will be on the dawn patrol."

Lionpaw responded with a slow, silent nod, keeping her gaze downward. Before long, the sun had appeared in the horizon and she struggled to keep up with the other cats. A dangerous group of cats had been threatening them, so extra attention was being paid to the northern border. The running made her injured foot throb, and the other front paw sore from having to support more weight than usual.

She didn't say a word about it. Lionpaw was already tired by the time she was back in the training area. She waited as Lightstep circled her, a thoughtful look on the other cat's face. The older feline at last halted and sat in front of her, then ordered her to go catch two mice and return to the clearing. Lionpaw left to do that, skillfully hiding her anger.

She feared what the consequences would be if she failed, yet knew that it was unlikely she would be able to do this. She made her breathing slower and completely relaxed. The scent of mouse reached her nose and she followed it carefully. She crouched the instant she saw movement, and was still. The rodent was oblivious to her, preoccupied with a seed.

She tried to move towards her prey. Stalking wasn't so easy with an injured paw, though. Lionpaw attempted to put weight on it. A jolt of pain went up her leg and she stumbled. The mouse hurried into its hiding place as the GladeClan apprentice regained her balance. She hissed in frustration, just before a shadow blocked out the light streaming through the forest canopy.

Startled, she immediately forgot about prey and looked up. That shadow was huge! She could see it pass by her on the ground once more and heard a strange sound. Was that a bird? It couldn't be. Lionpaw had heard of larger birds, but this must've been twice as big as Wolfclaw! The figure continued flying over her, and she backed up to hide among some tree roots.

 _I'm safe here,_ she told herself.

Then the figure slowed, almost to a halt, and the giant bird dove.

It narrowly missed flying into larger branches. The smaller branches were snapped as the monster of a creature headed straight toward Lionpaw. She hardly had the chance to move. Oddly dull talons firmly gripped the skin of the back of her neck. Her blood wasn't drawn until she twisted in attempt to get free. The leaves of the trees entered her vision as the creature struggled to get higher. Lionpaw screamed for help, her claws gripping a frail branch tip. For a heartbeat it seemed to be working, though the pain in her foot was intense, and the muscles in that leg were weakening because of it.

"Sandfur!"

The bird squawked with annoyance and continued struggling, until a sudden jolt shot through Lionpaw's leg. It went limp, and she was pulled upward. Most of the leaves fell from her claws. The gold-colored cat called for help a few more times, before realizing there was no way her Clan-mates could help her. She was now well above the forest canopy, out of reach.

She whispered her farewell to her family, and took a deep breath, accepting that she would soon enter RisenClan. She hoped things would be better there than in GladeClan. Herself and the bird now calm, she focused her differently colored eyes on the strange shapes in the distance.

OoOoOoOoOo

Softkit had left in the morning, and promised her mother and adopted sibling that she would return safely. Rockfall had only given birth to one kit. Twilightkit was abandoned, his mother never found. DawnClan was all he knew. Mistkit supposedly had siblings, two in fact. But they had both been stillborn. The grey she-kit stared at the setting sun, closing her eyes as a cool wind reached her fur.

The figures of her Clan-mates appeared in the distance. Snowcloud was leading, followed by Eagleflight, Darkpelt, and Suntail. The leader was carrying a small golden cat. The strange cat was barely conscious. Mistkit curiously tilted her head as she listened to the approaching felines.

"…. So strange! It was carrying her and then it just let go!"

"We know, Suntail. We were there," Darkpelt said in a tired voice.

"What happened? What was carrying her?" Mistkit questioned as the group passed by.

"A giant bird! It looked kind of like an eagle. It was carrying that cat and then it dropped her in a stream."

"Strange…. Is she alright?" Mistkit questioned as she looked towards the medicine cat den.

Suntail said she didn't know, but it was probably a better idea to wait and see than to bother Icewing. Mistkit agreed, and the warrior cat ran off to tell everyone about the odd event. Mistkit shared a small fish with Twilightkit, and returned to the nursery. She buried herself in Featherwind's long fur, and soon fell asleep. She dreamt of walking, with Dawn Peak ahead of her, the sun rising just behind it.

Ancient voices whispered to her, too faintly for the DawnClan cat to make out their words.


	3. Chapter 3

Meeting

She awoke before anyone else in the nursery cave. Confusion about her dream vexed the grey kit. Normally, a dream was just that, but this must've meant something. Had RisenClan been speaking to her? If so, why hadn't their message been clearer? Mistkit hadn't been able to understand a word they'd said. She walked out onto the ledge. The light of morning partially illuminated the camp, though there were plenty of shadows.

She chose a small fish from the fresh-kill pile and began eating. The cats chosen for the dawn patrol would've left by now, and the others were waking. The activity in the cave soon increased and Panthercloud left with a few others to hunt. Mistkit looked to the cave opening that led to the Medicine Cats' den. She wondered how that golden cat was doing.

Deciding that now would not be the best time to go see, she exited the camp. She turned right and jumped onto a stone. Then she jumped to another. She sank her claws into dirt and climbed until she reached stone again, then made one final leap, with much effort. She was now on top of camp. The hole in the roof was somewhat nearby.

She carefully moved to the edge and looked down, purring. It was fun to her, observing everyone from above like one of DawnClan's ancestors. Tired from her climb, she looked towards Dawn Peak. How was Softkit doing? Just getting up here was enough to make Mistkit tired. She sighed, thinking she just might take the challenge later than most. She wasn't ready for the journey, not yet.

"Mistkit!"

At her mother's call, she carefully hurried to the edge of the entrance. "I'm here!" she replied loudly, so her mother would hear her.

"Get down! There's a giant bird in the territory!"

She quickly made her way back downward. True, this bird was supposedly much larger than any they'd seen before. Most of the large birds never came so close to camp, but this one wouldn't have much to worry about. Mistkit realized on the way down that it was a bad idea to be out in the open with that creature possibly nearby. But what if it wasn't caught before she had to leave for Dawn Peak?

After speaking with Featherwind for a short time, she decided to finally go and meet the strange cat. She walked over to the opening, which was beside a stalagmite. She cautiously entered. Hawkflight was there, and said that the gold-colored feline had a badly injured paw and some claw marks in her skin thanks to the bird. But nothing more than that.

She'd thought that this cat would be awake by now, but they were still sleeping peacefully. She sat there and waited, her curiosity peaked when she heard the brown feline say, "so strange. I doubt a bird could rip out two claws with its beak…. And there would be scratches on her leg if the talons were to blame."

"Maybe she lost them in a battle?"

"Maybe…."

OoOoOoOoOo

Her throbbing foot brought her to consciousness yet again. Lionpaw was sure she'd drowned. Wasn't she in RisenClan? Shouldn't her injuries be gone? The GladeClan apprentice was so confused. Perhaps even in RisenClan, the younger cats meant less? Did they not consider her worthy of entering the realm of her ancestors with all her claws?

She opened her differently colored eyes and saw a grey kit staring at her. She noticed the cobwebs on her foot, and concluded that she was still alive. This was a medicine cat den, something that would surely not be needed in the afterlife. She slowly sat up, careful to not make eye contact with the adult cat. She worried that all cats were like those in GladeClan. She didn't want to lose any more claws.

"Hello," said the kit. "I'm Mistkit."

"And I'm Hawkflight. There were a few splinters in your foot, but I think I got them."

"Thank you," she replied quietly, amazed at how the kit had spoken first. "My name is Lionpaw."

"That's a Clan name. Where are you from?"

She replied to Hawkflight, "GladeClan."

"There are other Clans?"

"Of course, there are," Hawkflight said calmly. He asked Lionpaw, "do you want a poppy seed?"

"I'm fine," she nervously answered, though her foot bothered her immensely.

She was in shock. The way this adult cat spoke to her was strange, and it took her some time to figure it out. Hawkflight spoke to her like they were both equal. She couldn't believe it. It was what she'd wanted all her life, yet Lionpaw was struggling to accept it. This was too wonderful to be real. She wasn't ready to let her guard down.

"What is GladeClan like? How far is it form here?" Mistkit asked.

She looked cautiously at the medicine cat before saying, "it's very far from here. I'd only heard stories about mountains until yesterday." At least, she assumed it was yesterday. She couldn't have slept for longer than a day, could she?

"Are you hungry?"

She was afraid to answer that question, but her stomach growled, doing it for her.

"Why don't you show her to the fresh-kill pile?" Hawkflight suggested to the kit.

"Ok," Mistkit said happily and Lionpaw stood on three legs. She followed the kit's lead, and gasped upon seeing the stones looming over her.

She kept glancing up, and nearly walked right into the fresh-kill pile. Mistkit looked expectantly at her, and she picked up the smallest bird she saw. It was actually a normal sized bird, unlike the giant creature that had dropped her in this other Clan's territory. She was about to ask what this group was called, but froze when she noticed an approaching cat.

"Boulderfoot," Mistkit happily greeted.

"Mistkit," the other cat purred. "Hello."

"Hi," she quietly replied, hesitant to start eating. She then became angry with herself for being so timid.

"This is Lionpaw. She's from GladeClan," Mistkit said.

Boulderfoot seemed curious, but said nothing about it. "Welcome. We call ourselves DawnClan."


	4. Chapter 4

Dream

 **Ugh, shorter than normal chapter. Go see the poll of my profile and vote if ya haven't! I think I'll close it…. In a few days?**

"Aren't you going to eat?"

Mistkit's question reminded her that she hadn't started yet. Lionpaw mentally yelled at herself. This was what she wanted! Her dream was real! But what if it wasn't? What if the bird had dropped her several days before, and she was in Wildfire's den, asleep? No, that couldn't be it, she realized.

A GladeClan apprentice wasn't worth going so far to find. Maybe this was RisenClan and RisenClan was a wonderful dream? That had to be it. It was the only explanation. Lionpaw had to tell herself that. Because if these were real cats, she would spend every waking moment being afraid of them, careful about everything she did. Though she'd been doing that her entire life, she didn't feel she could any longer. So this was a dream.

Because this was a dream, she had nothing to fear.

And if she did something dangerous in the dream of RisenClan and disappeared, she wouldn't be able to feel fear at all anymore.

So at Mistkit's question, she calmly answered, "yes," and proceeded to eat at her own pace.

The grey tabby cat sighed as he sat down. Tiredness was reflected in the warrior cat's green eyes. Lionpaw felt something strange: amusement. She'd never seen an adult cat look so defeated. Even when Rivertail's kit had died just days after birth. Then again, she wasn't exactly allowed to act depressed. Lionpaw dismissed the memories and listened to the conversation.

"Is something wrong?" The grey kit asked.

"Same as usual: that group of hostile cats wants our land. I don't understand why they seem so intent on claiming what is ours."

"Maybe the territory beyond that in that direction has no prey? Or not enough?"

Boulderfoot looked thoughtful. "Maybe. But even so, why go to such great lengths to take something when you can travel elsewhere?"

"Some cats are like that," Lionpaw said, licking bird bones.

"But why? They do seem to eat less than us, but they're not starving. "

Mistkit looked just as confused, and Lionpaw nearly laughed at their innocence. "Some cats are just violent. They'd rather fight and harm someone to show their strength."

"But _why?_ " Mistkit insisted. "There's more than one way to prove strength."

"Asking that question is like asking 'why does the wind blow?'" she told them.

"It's wind," Mistkit said. "It just does. If it didn't it wouldn't even be wind!"

"And for many cats, fighting is just who they are."

"You sound like you've had plenty of experience in dealing with them."

"Boulderfoot!"

"I have to go," the warrior cat said and hurried towards Stonefoot.

OoOoOoOoOo

Mistkit was impressed by this cat's knowledge. She wondered if Lionpaw would be able to help them. She wasn't sure just how, but she doubted the golden cat was going anywhere soon. There was time to figure it out. She told Lionpaw that bones could just be thrown into the forest of stalagmites beside the pile. Mistkit began telling the apprentice about the different cave dens as they walked to the entrance.

She thought about asking if there was a certain challenge that a cat had to complete in GladeClan. Lionpaw spoke before she could, admiring Dawn Peak. She said that she wondered how Softkit was doing and then explained the DawnClan tradition. Lionpaw seemed deeply interested.

Because of the giant bird, the two cats were not allowed to explore without an experienced warrior. Mistkit asked Mooncloud to come with them, and the silver cat agreed. Lionpaw seemed surprised. Of course, one adult cat probably wouldn't be able to kill the bird. It would probably be enough to deter the creature, Mistkit thought.

So, they were able to venture a short distance from camp. She looked at the patches of woodland further down and Lionpaw looked out at the horizon, then at the sky. The golden cat said, "it doesn't look like the sun rises over Dawn Peak."

"It doesn't," both DawnClan felines replied.

"But at dawn, when the first rays of sunlight are able to reach it, the white stone of the mountain's crest glows brightly."

"Like a fallen star," Mistkit added. "Or the clouds at sunhigh."

Lionpaw's interest only seemed to increase. Mistkit stared at the other mountain, wondering if Softkit was ok. _Be careful,_ she thought. _And hurry back!_

"It's mine! Mine," the voice echoed and reached their ears.

"Jaggedpaw!" Mistkit recognized Greypaw's exasperated voice. "We're supposed to catch it together, or-"

The cry of a hawk could be heard now and the trio watched the bird shape take flight. It disappeared into the distance. Mooncloud simply purred and shook her head. Mistkit hoped she didn't have to hunt with Jaggedpaw when she was an apprentice. She noticed Lionpaw was looking at Dawn Peak again. The grey kit looked back at the forest areas.

"Can we go down and hunt?" she asked.

"Not now," Mooncloud said.

"Why not?" Lionpaw argued. "I want to see if I can catch some mountain prey."

"Maybe tomorrow, it'll be dark soon," Mooncloud replied calmly, with a hint of confusion.

Mistkit felt a slight anger. Lionpaw was acting like there wasn't anything wrong with hunting on their land. The golden cat was so odd. Almost acting like everything was a dream, and there were no consequences.


End file.
